NEW. OLD. WHATEVER.

Tonight we proudly feature the Brooklyn duo, Beacon. Thomas Mullarney III and Jacob Gossett met while attending Brooklyn’s Pratt Institue. Both were studying art, Thomas studying sculpture while Jacob studied Painting. The two eventually turned to music and released their first EP titled, No Body. The two compliment each other well to create a dark atmospheric sound. Mullarney has said of his music “The love songs we write are ones that have an inherent guilt implied. Inside love lives a more sinister, carnal element that is constantly being subdued or released.”

I had the pleasure of stumbling across Beacons single, L1. I was instantly hooked with it’s minimalist sound, but driving bass lines. With a genre that is becoming more and more saturated with artists, Beacon sets themselves above the rest. The band’s unique background of influences is what does this in my opinion. Beacon is the perfect soundtrack to a night drive on the town or lying in your bed taking in the feeling of the night. If you like what you hear I encourage you to also give Utah’s very own band Polytype a listen. They have a very similiar aesthetic to their sound. I hope you enjoy and I really want to know what you think! As always, thanks for visiting The Print.

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Though born in Lancaster, California, Watson was raised in Hudson, Quebec (near Montreal). Patrick first wrote and recorded songs as a solo singer/songwriter but after the release of his first LP Waterproof9, he was soon joined by full permanent band continuing under the moniker Patrick Watson. As a band they have released 5 studio albums, (Just Another Ordinary Day in 2003, Close To Paradise in 2006, Wooden Arms in 2009, Adventures In Your Own Backyard in 2012) the most recent of which, Love Songs For Robots, was dropped just earlier this month. Watson’s music has been featured on a number of TV shows, commercials and feature films. Perhaps most notably, three tracks from Adventures In Your Own Backyard and one from Wooden Arms (“Lighthouse”, “Blackwind”, “Into Giants”, and “Big Bird in a Small Cage”) were featured throughout the 2013 film What If starring Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame (on a side note, I really enjoyed that film; I definitely recommend you see it, especially if you are a fan of movies like 500 Days of Summer).

Patrick’s voice is nothing short of angelic. If you are wound up tight and just need to relax, listen to Adventures In Your Own Backyard especially tracks like “Lighthouse” and “Quiet Crowd,” they will calm you right down. Enjoy the posted videos below and thanks again for reading!

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Relatively new as band, RoyalBlood has already carved out their turf in the Rock & Roll scene. Formed in 2013 in Brighton, England the hard rock duo have quickly made themselves known, for their gritty blues-rock sound. Royal Blood is composed of Mike Kerr (Bassist/Singer) and Ben Thatcher (Drums). Although limited by their small size, they more than make up for it with their big sound. Rather than playing the typical electric guitar, Kerr plays the gritty sounding bass guitar, giving the band its unique sound. Before Royal Blood released their first single, Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders was seen wearing a Royal Blood t-shirt supporting the band. Shortly thereafter, the band released their first single “Out of the Black” with the B-side “Come On Over”

It was later announced that the band would be supporting the Arctic Monkeys at a few of their shows. In Febuary of 2014 the band released another single and in March released an EP in North America. Royal Blood has perfomed at SXSW, Liverpool Sound City festival and Coachella. Royal Blood will be touring with the Foo Fighters at some of their 2015 UK & US tours. Ben Thatcher has mentioned that they will be writing their next album while touring with the Foo Fighters this year.

It’s hard for me to pick only a few songs to share with you, so I really encourage you to give their self titled debut album a full listen. I promise you wont be disappointed. However, that being said, here are my top picks..

P.S. Royal Blood will be playing a show this Wed May 27th at the Murray Theater in SLC. Hope to see you there!

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Today I bring to you, Surfer Blood. I think the reason why I like them was because they made me feel like I’ve been transported to the California coast. I can almost feel the ocean breeze flowing through my hair as I listen. The distinct California surf vibe they give off is actually kind of interesting considering that they aren’t even from there. They hail from California’s step-sibling on the eastern coast, Florida. The bands’ two integral founders met in high school and began playing together before officially taking on the name Surfer Blood in 2009. They made waves fast, however, in 2010 they had already released their debut full-length album Astro Coast. The band gained a decent sized following, and within a year signed to the prestigious label giants Warner Brothers. I totally understand why the public would rally behind them. It may just be a theory, but I feel that everyone wants to feel like they are in California without the hassle of actually traveling there, braving the crowded beaches and bumper-to-bumper traffic. So, if you can get a little taste of that coastal feeling simply by plugging in your headphones, why wouldn’t you? You can feel the surfer blood in your veins from the comfort of your own couch. The story doesn’t end there; they kept going releasing an Extended Play (EP) titled Tarot Classics in 2011 and another full-length album, Pythons in 2013. The band continues to gain a following to this day as they recently released a third full length album titled 1000 Palms just a week or so ago. With this album, the band ditched the major record label and returned to their roots with a self produced lo-fi sound similar to that of their acclaimed Astro Coast LP. I strongly encourage everyone to check these guys out, their music is available on iTunes and Spotify. Perhaps start with my favorite tracks “Floating Vibes”, “I Can’t Explain” and “Demon Dance”. You won’t be disappointed. Or, you could check out one of their live performances, as they will be making a stop in Provo in mid-June as part of their summer tour.

One more thing, Surfer Blood’s guitarist Thomas Fekete, was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive cancer (a sarcoma), and had to drop out of touring, thus making him unable to earn a living to pay the very expensive hospital bills. The other band members have done all they can, but the bulk of the medical bills were going to go unpaid. A GoFundMe page was set up to help pay those bills. I will include the link below in case you all want to donate to help him out.

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Tonight we feature the Irish Singer/Songwriter artist, James Vincent McMorrow. Born in 1983, James didn’t begin playing music until his late teens. James got his start in the music scene as a drummer but was drawn to a softer sound and began playing the guitar at the age of 19. He was influenced by the sounds of Sufjan Stevens and Band Of Horses. As James developed as an artist he began playing shows in local pubs and received great praise.

In 2010 James moved to a small house on the Irish coastline with his guitar and a few other necessities. There he recorded what would be his debut EP. It was released shortly thereafter and was recieved with high praise and even went Platinum. In 2013 James moved to a studio in Texas where he would record his second album. The album, Post Tropical, was released this last November and differs greatly from his debut album.

James has been an all time favorite of mine so it’s really hard for me to pick only a few songs to share. I’ve posted the ones that I think will show you the incredible range of talent he has. I’ve also shared a Chris Isaak cover that I had the luck of stumbling upon. James will also be perfoming this August in SLC, so hopefully I’ll see you there. Enjoy, and thanks for reading The Print!

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AgnesObel, from Denmark, got her start with music at a young age. Her family always had various instruments lying around their home. Obel’s mother, a talented musician, would play Chopin and Bartok on the piano constantly filling their home with music. As a result of her upbringing, Obel began playing piano at a young age. She was told by her classical music teacher to not play songs she didn’t like and thats exactly what she did.

Obel released her first album Philharmonics in 2010 which she produced, sang, wrote and played the entire album. Obel said “The orchestral or symphonic music never interested me. I always was attracted by simple melodies, almost childish.(…) I put a long time before writing texts because the music seems to tell already a story, to project images.”

In 2011, Obel began working on her second album after the success of Philharmonics. The new album titled “Aventine” was released in 2013 and received numerous awards. Of this album Obel has said “On the last album, I didn’t want to disturb the melody with too many stories. This time, I wanted to know if I was able to create images with words, with the sound of words.(…) I think that’s a good thing when the one who is listening, is feeling it in a different way that the one who creates. We are all listening with different perspectives.(…) I don’t want to impose my subjectivity to the listener.” Obel is currently working on her third studio album but there is not an expected release date yet.

I first fell in love with Obel’s music when I stumbled upon the song “Dorian” To be honest I never really expolored her other music until a few months ago and I’m sure glad I did. If you’re not sure where to start I recommend listening to Aventine first. I’ve featured my personal favorites below and if you have enough time I encourage you to watch the last video which is beautifully filmed in my opinion. Thanks for the read and I hope you enjoy!

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Now, I’m pretty confident that many of you already know very well or at least have heard of Tame Impala. With smash hits like “Elephant” and “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards,” Tame Impala has already made the rounds on mainstream radio. The band’s debut album Innerspeaker was released in May of 2010 followed by the Grammy-nominated Lonerism dropping in March of 2012. What some of you may not know is that the band is releasing a long-awaited, new album in July. Frontman Kevin Parker said this before the band began to record in 2014,”I’m gonna try to make it a bit more minimal this time; only use what’s needed … instead of a supreme pizza, where you just throw everything on” (http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/musicnews/s4007560.htm). Jay Watson (Synth and backing vocals) said,”[It’s] probably gonna be less rock again and more electronic again, even more than the last one”(http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/41247/Tame-Impala-will-be-less-rock-and-more-electronic-on-next-album). Four singles from the forthcoming Currents have already been released. When the lead single “Let It Happen” was released, many were surprised (pleasantly) by the direction that the band had taken. The now even more synth reliant sound was an instant hit (in my book as well). I’ve been listening non-stop to “‘Cause I’m A Man” and the very recently released “Eventually” hoping that the July release date will come sooner so my vinyl preorder can show up. Below you’ll find the four singles off the forthcoming Currents to check out and hopefully fall in love with.

For all you concert goers out there, Tame Impala will be in town playing at The Depot in SLC on May 29th. I plan on being there and hope I will see you there.